The Whole Sect Is Acting Strange Chapter 83

Chapter 83

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Zhuyou had long forgotten where he left Bai Lige and the others on the west coast, but he had threatened Bai Lige, making them stay here and not move.

Although Zhuyou was only a demon king recognized by a dozen major demons inside the Demon Sealing Tower, he was still a demon king! Could Bai Lige afford not to listen to him?

Therefore, Zhuyou was quite indifferent, quite calm: “They are right here.”

Pei Yunshu nodded earnestly.

Snow had accumulated on his head, and as the snowflakes melted, it easily dampened his clothes and hair.

Zhuyou looked at the snow on his head and found Pei Yunshu’s appearance quite pleasing. So, he secretly used the wind to wrap up the snow that hadn’t fallen to the ground yet, accumulating a head of snowy hair for himself.

Pei Yunshu happily walked around the alley with him. Passing through this street, they arrived at another street, where the festive atmosphere of the New Year was everywhere. People had ignited bamboo, and firecrackers popped and crackled from one end of the street to the other without stopping.

Pei Yunshu and Zhuyou were experiencing such a festive day for the first time. Zhuyou was completely clueless. When he saw people bustling around, he asked Pei Yunshu, “What are they doing?”

Pei Yunshu was also half-knowing, looking puzzled.

In the cultivation world, where is there the concept of years? Many people even forget their own age bit by bit in the flow of time.

Whether it’s a long seclusion for several years or a short one for a few months, time flows like a river, not worth caring about day by day and year by year. In such a trend, Zhuyou and Pei Yunshu didn’t know how old they were now or how many years had passed.

Because they had never experienced such a “year” before.

While walking through the streets, Pei Yunshu didn’t forget to call out the names of Hua Yue and Bai Lige. After a while, Zhuyou suddenly grabbed Pei Yunshu’s hand and pulled him to another part of the street.

“Zhuyou, wait,” Pei Yunshu was forced to follow him. Zhuyou’s pace became faster, and Pei Yunshu had to jog to keep up. “Zhuyou, slow down!”

There was an unusual hint of pleasure in Zhuyou’s voice. “I smell the scent of chicken.”

Pei Yunshu was pulled to the place where they were slaughtering chickens. A woman of average height stood there, squatting and looking at the chickens in the cage with desire. Waving her hand grandiosely, she said, “I’ll take all these chickens and ducks! Boss, tie them up for me. Can you deliver them to my place?”

Zhuyou frowned, stepped forward, and kicked sideways, looking down at the woman squatting on the ground. “Ducks are yours, my chickens.”

The woman looked up, about to scold, but when she saw Zhuyou, she suddenly froze. She stared straight at Zhuyou, completely stunned in place.

Turning to look at Pei Yunshu, Zhuyou said, “Husband, she’s looking at me.”

Pei Yunshu said, “So what if she looks? Let her look.”

The woman heard Pei Yunshu’s voice, turned her head stiffly, and looked at Pei Yunshu. She blinked, rubbed her eyes to make sure this wasn’t a dream, and then couldn’t believe it. “Beauty Yunshu…”

Pei Yunshu looked at her in surprise. “Hua Yue?”

Zhuyou watched their excited expressions. Although he didn’t say anything, a cold aura emanated from him. The chickens and ducks in the cage were frightened by his aura, and none dared to make a sound, huddling in a corner, trembling so much that their feathers fell faster than snowflakes.

The boss tried to calm them down, but no matter how much he tried, it didn’t work. Anxiously scratching his head, Pei Yunshu also realized the situation and quickly pulled Zhuyou away from those livestock.

Hua Yue tearfully looked at Pei Yunshu and Zhuyou. “You finally came to find us. I thought Beauty Yunshu and Lord Zhuyou had forgotten about us.”

Pei Yunshu smiled awkwardly.

He hadn’t forgotten, but Zhuyou was another story.

Hua Yue chattered on about everything that happened after Zhuyou left them here. Because Zhuyou told them to stay put, they thought Zhuyou had taken them out in batches, first taking the three of them out of the Dragon God Secret Realm and then bringing Pei Yunshu.

But unexpectedly, after waiting for a full two months, there was still no sign of Zhuyou!

Bai Lige got angry at that time, slapped the table, and said it must be Zhuyou’s conspiracy. Zhuyou separated them and then eloped with Pei Yunshu!

Alone!

He wanted to do something bad!

However, after extreme anger, they were still helpless. They could only stay on the eastern sea coast, waiting for Zhuyou to bring Pei Yunshu back. After waiting for this long, the festive atmosphere outside made the two demons and one cultivator realize that it was almost the New Year.

“For the New Year, we want to eat big fish and meat,” Hua Yue said. “The Patriarch instructed me to buy meat. He and Young Master Qingfeng are going to buy wine, and one will go to write couplets.”

He glanced at Zhuyou, who was closely following Pei Yunshu. Thinking about how he hadn’t seen Beauty Yunshu for two whole months, he got angry and couldn’t help but sarcastically add, “Lord Zhuyou’s pressure is so heavy that those chickens and ducks are scared to the point they dare not come with us. What should we do?”

Transforming back to his original form, he looked at Pei Yunshu with a pair of peach blossom eyes, blinking flirtatiously. He was truly the Hua Yue who dared to do anything for the sake of beauty. He was terrified by Zhuyou’s dragon soul in the God Dragon Secret Realm, but now that he had recovered, he was drooling over Pei Yunshu’s face again.

Pei Yunshu raised an eyebrow, patted his storage pouch confidently, “Have you forgotten? Initially, Zhuyou and I caught a whole bag of wild chickens from the Shanshui Sect. That bag is still with me. It’s enough for you to eat a hundred and eighty in a day.”

Zhuyou’s eyes brightened, and he reached out to Pei Yunshu. Pei Yunshu took out another bag from his storage pouch and instructed, “You can’t eat too much every day. At least, you have to stick to it for at least ten days.”

Zhuyou nodded.

The three of them followed behind the common people. Whatever others bought, they bought too. After half an hour, struggling with arms full of items, they followed Hua Yue back to the courtyard where they were staying. 

Upon seeing Pei Yunshu and Zhuyou, Bai Lige was overjoyed, while Young Master Qingfeng expressionlessly glanced up, then continued writing couplets.

Bai Lige carried a spear, intending to have a fight with Zhuyou. “I need to teach you a lesson for taking Yunshu away for such a long time!”

The two of them started fighting in the courtyard, while Pei Yunshu and Hua Yue held hot water to scald chicken feathers. About halfway through, these chickens were directed by Zhuyou to start plucking themselves.

Next to the well was a tub of fish, each one as big as a thigh. Hua Yue went to kill the fish, and Pei Yunshu followed the advice of a chef they met on the road, cleaning the purchased bones and throwing them into a pot to make a large bone soup.

Today was New Year’s Eve, and tomorrow was New Year’s Day. Their celebration of the New Year was more of an imitation, following the neighbors in various activities.

Fresh soup simmered all day, becoming very fragrant by evening. Pei Yunshu found the spices he bought, putting the familiar ones aside and tasting the unfamiliar ones by dipping his fingers.

Ginger slices, fragrant leaves, cinnamon, and more—the chef said that adding these spices, simmering for a day after removing the gaminess, would turn the final soup into a milky white color, and one sip would be so fragrant that it could bite off your own tongue.

When Pei Yunshu tried dipping the seasonings, he got a shock from the spiciness. Afterward, he became smarter, dipping another set of spices and stopping Zhuyou and Bai Lige, asking Zhuyou to taste it for him.

When Zhuyou tasted it, after a few seconds, he frowned. “Bitter.”

Pei Yunshu suddenly realized, “Oh, okay, you guys continue.”

Zhuyou wasn’t interested in playing with Bai Lige anymore. He left Bai Lige behind and followed Pei Yunshu, watching as Pei Yunshu added seasonings to the soup.

On the other side, Hua Yue finished killing the fish, sighed in relief, washed his hands by the well, and when he returned, he found that the fish on the cutting board had disappeared. He was shocked and quickly looked around. He saw only a wild cat’s tail flashing over the wall.

Hua Yue was furious!

He pointed at Bai Lige and scolded, then pointed at Zhuyou, “You two are idle in the courtyard, and the fish I worked so hard to kill was taken away by a wild cat, and you didn’t even notice! You call yourselves great demons? Can’t even guard your own fish at home?!”

Endless complaints, without repeating a word. Compared to flattery, the two months of life in the mortal world seemed to have enhanced Hua Yue’s ability to curse people.

Pei Yunshu was putting firewood into the fire, covered in a thick layer of snow. The firewood was already quite damp, making it particularly difficult to burn. Pei Yunshu’s face was smeared with quite a bit of soot, but he was oblivious, looking at Hua Yue, “Did the fish disappear?”

Hua Yue, in distress, said, “Beauty Yunshu, look at them.”

Pei Yunshu turned around to look at Zhuyou and Bai Lige.

Zhuyou was earnestly handing firewood to Pei Yunshu, his eyes innocent. Pei Yunshu looked behind him again, and Bai Lige was solemnly directing Young Master Qingfeng to paste couplets, pointing in all directions, left and right. Young Master Qingfeng’s face turned pale.

Pei Yunshu blinked, turned to look at Hua Yue, who was already teary-eyed.

Helplessly, he could only let Zhuyou burn the firewood and then called Bai Lige over to kill the fish for Hua Yue. He and Hua Yue helped Young Master Qingfeng paste couplets.

Young Master Qingfeng’s writing was neat and tidy, stroke by stroke. Pei Yunshu and Hua Yue were much more reliable, holding rice paste and sticking it on neatly.

Just as the pot of pork oil was finally simmered out, Bai Lige, in a hurry, put down the still lively fish on the cutting board, anxiously lifted the lid of the pot, and was suddenly covered in oil, “Yunshu, save me!”

Pei Yunshu rushed over, and Zhuyou protected him from behind, afraid that oil droplets would splatter onto him.

Bai Lige was in a hurry, “What should we do about this?”

Pei Yunshu, unaware of the situation, said, “You turn the pork over!”

But as soon as Bai Lige moved the spatula, a burst of flames suddenly ignited in the pot, fierce and intense, making Bai Lige bewildered.

After a series of hectic moments, they finally poured out the pork oil from the pot. People on the west coast liked to eat pancakes, and Pei Yunshu had seen many families making pancakes on the street. He prepared everything, cleared the pot, asked them to move away, and carefully spread the oil on the surface of the pot. The pre-prepared dough was stretched into the pot, then eggs and spices were added on top of the pancake. A fragrant and oily pancake came out of the pot.

Being the first time, there was still some clumsiness, and the sides of the pancake were somewhat burnt, but with plenty of eggs and spices, it didn’t taste bitter but rather mouth-wateringly fragrant.

Zhuyou and Bai Lige stood on the side, eagerly watching. Hua Yue and Young Master Qingfeng also walked over, smelling the fragrance, feeling really hungry.

Pei Yunshu awkwardly picked up the pancake and placed it in a bowl. He took a look around, “Where’s the meat sauce?”

Hua Yue swallowed saliva, ran into the house, took out the meat sauce, and Pei Yunshu picked some, spreading it on the pancake, giving it a tempting sauce color.

The meat sauce was bought at a high price in a restaurant, where it was said to be a secret recipe of a hundred years. It was very popular in the west coast area, and they queued up to buy five or six cans.

The pancake was warm, the egg was fragrant, and Pei Yunshu picked up the pancake, turned around, and met the gazes of four people.

Pei Yunshu: “…”

Shouldn’t the first bite be tasted by me, the head chef?

Among these four people, the one with the least shame spoke first, “Husband, I want to eat.”

Zhuyou pointed to the rolled pancake in Pei Yunshu’s hand, “You take a bite, and I’ll take a bite.”

Satisfied.

Pei Yunshu directly handed the pancake to him.

The other few people were too embarrassed to compete with Zhuyou, mainly because they couldn’t win. They could only watch eagerly on the side. When Zhuyou took a bite, they anxiously asked, “How is it?”

“Is it delicious?”

“Is it good or not?”

Zhuyou opened his mouth wide, and in two or three bites, he swallowed the entire rolled pancake. The fragrant aroma filled the entire courtyard.

“Delicious,” Zhuyou repeated, his eyes shining as he looked at Pei Yunshu.

The others became anxious. “Yunshu, make another one, or let me do it? It seems quite simple.”

Feeling hungry himself, Pei Yunshu gave up the chef’s position to Hua Yue, who had some culinary skills. Hua Yue hurriedly spread the oil and started making pancakes.

After Hua Yue became proficient, he was much faster than Pei Yunshu. While he was making the pancakes, others dipped them in meat sauce and rolled them up, soft and fragrant, satisfying their hunger.

A small table was set up, and another stove was simmering fish soup. The fire was lit, and they all sat by the fire, watching the snowfall around, enjoying the pancakes and sipping wine.

“Is the dinner going to be even more sumptuous tonight?” Bai Lige looked forward to it. “Since Yunshu left me, I haven’t eaten the wild chicken from Shanshui Sect for over a month. The wild chickens here in the mortal realm can’t compare to the ones raised on Ling Mountain; they lack the same chewiness.”

Pei Yunshu pretended to suddenly realize, “So, Bai Lige, you were only thinking about wild chickens?”

“How can you say that?” Bai Lige said, “As long as Yunshu is safe by my side, I’m willing to give up eating chicken forever.”

Zhuyou looked at him displeased.

Bai Lige laughed heartily, “I’ve been meaning to ask, why does Zhuyou look much younger in just a month? Did you take some elixirs or something?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Yunshu suddenly stood up and walked towards the stove. “Why did the fire for boiling the soup go out? Zhuyou, are you slacking off?”

Zhuyou stood up and obediently followed Pei Yunshu to restart the fire.

Bai Lige glanced at Young Master Qingfeng, pondering with a smile, and brought up another topic.

The longer the large bone soup simmers, the more fragrant it becomes. When it’s done properly, it turns thick and milky white, making it incredibly delicious. By evening, Pei Yunshu saw that the soup had achieved this color. He tasted it and nodded, “Not bad, not bad.”

Having only tasted a bit, his lips tingled with fragrance, and a warmth spread through his body, arousing hunger from his organs. Pei Yunshu put the lid back on the pot, planning to simmer it for another hour before helping Hua Yue make other dishes.

Everyone got busy because it was the first time experiencing a New Year celebration in the mortal world. They were all hands-on, simmering the fish soup from noon until now. The savory aroma attracted curious children from nearby houses.

With money, they had a feast of free meals. It was indeed a joyful experience.

Pei Yunshu gave Zhuyou two handfuls of sweet fruits to distribute to the kids outside.

When Zhuyou went out, he returned with empty hands, but there was a faint smile of pride on his face.

He walked to Pei Yunshu, “They aren’t afraid of me at all. They praised the food you made and said it must be delicious.”

Pei Yunshu felt a little embarrassed, “It’s also thanks to Hua Yue and Young Master Qingfeng.”

Zhuyou said, “You’re the best.”

His gaze turned to the pot of large bone soup, and Pei Yunshu knew that the silly flood dragon’s habit had struck again. He loved to hear heaps of praises.

However, the people around here weren’t as willing to spend money as they were. They might only enjoy a slightly more festive meal during the New Year. In this sense, they were doing a good deed. Pei Yunshu found a few pairs of bowls and chopsticks, filled them with the large bone soup, and asked Zhuyou, Bai Lige, and Young Master Qingfeng to deliver them to the neighboring households.

The three of them obediently went, and when they returned, even Young Master Qingfeng had a faint smile on his face.

Not long after, the people from nearby houses also came with gifts, and these were placed on the dining table. As the time approached, several people gathered, and together they made dumplings.

Chatting and mocking each other’s poorly made dumplings, they all laughed. Pei Yunshu looked at the snow falling outside the window, and despite the laughter, he felt a burning warmth in his heart.

How wonderful would it be if it could always be like this?

Hua Yue spoke for him, “If there’s so much delicious food every day, and we can be with friends, then life would be great.”

Young Master Qingfeng couldn’t hold back and said abruptly, “I’m not your friend.”

“I know, you’re a captive,” Hua Yue said nonchalantly, “I don’t consider you a friend either.”

The dumplings in Young Master Qingfeng’s hand got misshapen due to being shut up like that.

Pei Yunshu chuckled and then burst into laughter. He openly began to persuade, “Young Master Qingfeng, why bother pledging allegiance to Flower Brocade Sect? The righteous path and demonic cultivation aren’t necessarily life and death relationships. It’s just that Flower Brocade Sect really isn’t suitable for you.”

The reputation of Flower Brocade Sect was extremely bad even among demonic cultivators.

Young Master Qingfeng said, “How could I betray my sect.”

His eyes were clear, clearly showing a conflict between his heart and words.

Hearing this, Pei Yunshu suddenly fell silent. He restrained his laughter, took a jug of wine, and walked out of the room.

Outside the window, heavy snowfall. He stood under the eaves, and snowflakes blew to his front with the wind.

Young Master Qingfeng opened his mouth, with a hint of regret on his face.

Zhuyou warned him with a glance, then followed him outside.

Pei Yunshu heard the footsteps but didn’t turn around.

Betraying the sect.

Even demonic cultivators knew they couldn’t leave their sects casually, yet Pei Yunshu just left so openly and carefree.

He cut ties without seeking permission, crushed the wooden plaque, and sent a letter to the sect leader, considering it a complete break.

Even the ease he felt at that time made Pei Yunshu himself doubt if he was inherently indifferent and ruthless.

Was he ungrateful?

Was he a backstabber?

The reason for betraying the sect, that reason, he couldn’t figure it out.

Back then, in Bai Lige’s mansion, Bai Lige took out the “Emotion Bound Gu.” And then?

What happened after that?

The grandmaster restored his memories, but why were these memories still incomplete? Bai Lige said he had already severed ties with the sect, why didn’t he remember?

Did master know?

Did his senior brothers know?

And why did he say, “Senior brother, can you not break my legs,” after getting drunk with Yuncheng?

Pei Yunshu watched the snowflakes fall to the ground, feeling a vast emptiness in his heart.

He betrayed the sect.

But the reason for the betrayal…?

Because the grandmaster trapped Zhuyou and the others, because the master wanted to kill Zhuyou, because the grandmaster sealed his memories, because the grandmaster wanted to extract his emotional roots, because the grandmaster and senior brothers had ill intentions towards him?

Because of those sudden flashes of images in his mind?

It felt like thousands of thin needles simultaneously pierced his brain. The intense pain made Pei Yunshu bend over, subconsciously trying to stop this pain.

Shoulders were held by a pair of hands, and he was embraced from behind. Zhuyou freed up a hand, rubbing Pei Yunshu’s forehead.

“After tonight, let me take a closer look at your sea of consciousness,” Zhuyou’s voice was low, particularly pleasant, “Wife, don’t be in a hurry.”

Pei Yunshu took a deep breath, no longer thinking, and the pain slowly faded away.

“Zhuyou,” he muttered to himself, “Am I really ungrateful to the sect?”

Zhuyou extended his hand to hug him, lifted his chin, and dropped a kiss on Pei Yunshu’s forehead.

“Your happiness is the most important.”

But Pei Yunshu wasn’t happy about the sect.

That reason alone was enough.

Enough for him to leave the sect.

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